Winter storm blasts Europe; 13 dead amid heavy snow, gusts

Hundreds of people were snowed-in in Alpine regions and
warned of a high risk of avalanches, parts of Scandinavia were left without
electricity, and high winds caused flight delays and cancellations in the
Netherlands as deadly winter weather continued to blast Europe on Tuesday.

Several people have already been killed in weather-related
incidents over the last week, and in Norway attempts to find the bodies of four
skiers were again put on hold due to poor visibility and heavy snowfall. A
29-year Swedish woman and three Finns, aged 29, 32 and 36, were presumed dead
after a 990-foot-wide avalanche hit the Tamok valley, near the northern city of
Tromsoe, last week.

In Austria, hundreds of residents were stuck in their homes
due to blocked roads, and some regions experienced power outages after
snow-laden trees took down power lines.

Schools in some Austrian regions remained closed for a
second day and homeowners were advised to remove snow from their roofs after
several buildings collapsed. A 78-year-old man was severely injured when he
fell of the roof of his home in Turrach while shoveling snow, Austrian public
broadcaster ORF reported.

On Monday night, 11 German hikers had to be rescued by
mountaineers from a cabin near Salzburg, after having been snowed in without
electricity and little food since Friday. Several people were killed by
avalanches in recent days and authorities warned continuing snowfall is
increasing the already high risk of more avalanches.

In southern and eastern Germany, people were also bracing
for further snowfall, while in the northern coastal city of Hamburg residents
were preparing for a storm flood caused by a winter gale, the German news
agency dpa reported.

In neighboring Netherlands, Amsterdam’s busy Schiphol
Airport warned of delays and cancellations. Dutch carrier KLM canceled 159
flights to and from European destinations.

In northwestern Dutch coastal regions expected to be hardest
hit by strong winds and wild seas, local water authorities began checking dikes
to make sure they were not damaged.

The Noorderzijlvest water authority said it was monitoring
dikes because of debris floating in the sea after nearly 300 containers tumbled
off a cargo ship in a storm last week. Many of the containers are still at sea
and some have broken open, spilling their contents.

“A fridge or container that is rammed against a dike
can cause damage,” the authority said on its website.

Swedish media reported several fender-benders and stranded
vehicles along roads but nothing unusual for the season in this part of Europe.

Meanwhile, in southeastern Europe, schools in the Greek
capital and many surrounding areas remained shut due to weather conditions
after snowfall blanketed Athens, with temperatures in some parts of the country
plunging well below freezing.

Courts in Athens were also to remain shut Tuesday, with only
fast-track prosecutions being heard, the Justice Ministry said. Some rural
roads, particularly those leading up to the mountains near the capital, were
shut overnight and in the early morning.

Greece has been experiencing a cold snap for the past few
days, with heavy snowfall, particularly in the north of the country and in
mountainous areas. Temperatures have reached minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 5
degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of northern Greece, while many islands have also
experienced snowfall.

In the meantime, Taiwan’s military on Wednesday announced a series of newly designed large-scale military drills for this year aimed at countering China’s renewed threat to use force to gain control over the island.

China claims sovereignty over the self-governing island
democracy, which split from the mainland amid civil war in 1949.

Chinese President Xi Jinping renewed the threat of force in
his Jan. 2 message to the island, saying China reserved that right if necessary
to counter interference by external forces and what he called an extremely
small number of Taiwanese separatists.

Although Xi didn’t mention the U.S. by name, Washington is a
key supplier of weaponry to the island and is legally bound to respond to
threats against Taiwan.

With its 3 million-member armed forces and the world’s
second largest defense budget of $173 billion, China has the overwhelming
military edge over Taiwan. Xi has been ratcheting up the military threat to put
pressure on independence-leaning Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.

Tsai responded to Xi’s speech by rejecting demands for
unification between the sides, saying, “China must face the fact of the
existence of Taiwan.”

Taiwan wields a much smaller by technologically
sophisticated force that would be relied on to hold off a Chinese assault until
outside help arrives.

In recent years, Taiwan’s strategy has evolved from defeating a Chinese landing force to repelling an invasion on sea and in the air.

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